Spring Fever
by keiliykuckoo
Summary: Rapunzel thinks she's sick. Written for Punzie the Platypus' Spring Challenge. One-shot.


"A BUNNY!" She gasped so loudly that the whole room looked at her. She leapt from her chair, unaware of the glances and whispers, and stared out the window that showed the palace gardens.

Eugene shook his head.

He had no ways of controlling his bride-to-be, even though the staff assumed he did. He leaned back in his chair watching her excitement as she pressed her face against the window.

Rapunzel had seen a rabbit before. She had been scared to death. Eugene remembered how he almost fell over when she climbed on him trying to get away from the "ruffian." Now, whenever she saw a rabbit, she freaked out and looked back at him expectedly as if they were supposed to reenact the scene.

She wasn't looking back this time

The King and Queen beamed at their daughter, and Eugene knew that they had no problems with her more childish behaviors. They were just happy to have their daughter back.

However, the advisors and coaches who were trying to make a princess out of her, and a prince out of Eugene, disagreed. They gave Eugene an angry look, telling him with their eyes to retrieve her and correct her behavior. He hunched forward in the stiff chair, which wasn't easy. He didn't want to be the bad guy to Rapunzel, telling her that she couldn't do this, or she couldn't do that. That was THEIR job not his.

But, when he started to sweat under their stares, Eugene got up from his seat and stood behind Rapunzel folding his hands behind his back.

"What are you looking at?" He inquired quietly.

He knew when her thoughts broke. She would shake her head like she was confused at where she was, and look back at him with a "what are you doing" stare. Then she would smile so sweetly that he just wanted to kiss her, but they didn't do a lot of kissing in front of her parents.

"There's a bunny-rabbit, like the one we saw when we met." She pressed her finger to the window pointing at it, Eugene looked for a second then back at her. She was so animated in the way she got excited and in all of her expressions. It made him smile.

"Why don't you come and sit down and during break we can go and look for him." Eugene suggested trying to pull her attention away from the windows showing the spring flowers.

"Oh… the meeting." She looked beyond him at the people staring at the couple by the window.

"Yeah…" Eugene shoved his hands in his pockets, but then remembered that a prince never did that. He hated the rules, but removed his hands. While he didn't want to be at the meeting, he knew that Rapunzel didn't want to be there even more than him. She hated being cooped up inside, he knew that because she told him, but she would never mention it to her mother or father.

After a second longer at the window, he watched Rapunzel return to her seat by her mother. He returned to his seat next to her and then listened as one of the advisors droned on about something. He really couldn't pay attention because Rapunzel had started to draw flowers all over the itinerary with the pencil she was supposed to be using to take notes. He watched her draw with very little effort. He wished he had a talent like that.

He heart a tsking noise come from his side, and he lazily glanced up to see one of the instructors of her etiquette lessons shaking his head, Eugene nudged her softly to alert her to pay attention, but she merely wrote "What?" on the paper.

He shook his head at her, but she persisted drawing a line under the word.

He took his quill and began writing.

_You can't draw when they talk, you have to try and pay attention._

_I can't it's too stuffy in here._ She replied in her neat, loopy handwriting. He wished he had better handwriting instead of the chicken scratch that seemed to come from his hand. He didn't practice writing a lot.

_I know, you've got a bad case of spring fever, but you have to try. It's not that much longer._

_What's spring fever?_

"Ahem." A cough came from the Queen, and Rapunzel sank in her seat only to shoot up and straighten her shoulders like she had been taught. Eugene decided it was best not to reply, but Rapunzel looked antsy by his side. She kept gripping the pencil and releasing it, only to grip it again. She nearly broke it twice and finally resolved to sit on her hands.

She was adorable when she wiggled.

Finally, they were released from the meeting, and Rapunzel did very well in saying goodbye to everyone before giving a formal bow to her parents. She then grabbed Eugene's hand and pulled him outside to the gardens.

"Am I sick?" She asked him propping her hands on her hips.

"What?" Then, Eugene laughed remembering, "No, spring fever is when you can't concentrate as soon as spring arrives. Everyone gets it."

"So it's contagious." She looked sickly and worried, she began to wander off, but Eugene touched her shoulders and made her face him.

"It's not a disease, Rapunzel. It's just a phase your brain goes to. You want to spend more time outside where it's sunny and not to warm." Eugene smiled at her, but she didn't look convinced. He always had the worst time convincing her.

Then she sneezed.

"Oh, no. I'm sick!"

"You're not sick, it's probably allergies." Eugene sounded disinterested as he watched Rapunzel walk away clutching her nose as if it would fall off her face.

"No, I have spring fever."

Eugene sighed, approaching her slowly before taking her two hands in his. "You're okay."

"But you said-."

"It's an expression. You're not sick."

"But-."

Tired of the buts, he kissed her.


End file.
